Community is in pain: Clinton on killing of African-American man

Community is in pain: Clinton on killing of African-American man

Chalotte, Oct 3 (IANS) In the wake of the death of Keith Lamont Scott’s, a 43-year-old African American man who was fatally shot by an African American police officer last month, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged the country to heal racial divides as this community is in pain.

Speaking at at a black church here on Sunday, she asked the country to see recent violence “through our children’s eyes”, NBC News reported.

“Our entire country should take a moment to really look at what’s going on here and across America to imagine” how young people view tensions between police and minority communities, Clinton was quoted as saying.

“I’m a grandmother and like every grandmother, I worry about the safety and security of my grandchildren. But my worries are not the same as black grandmothers,” Clinton said, adding that every child, regardless of race, “deserves the same sense of security” and “deserves the same hope.”

The Democratic nominee was first invited by faith leaders to visit Charlotte after Scott was shot and killed by police earlier this month.

Clinton noted, “Now we don’t yet know all the details about the shooting, but we do know this family and this community is in pain. And therefore we pray for them and we pray for all families who have suffered similar loses,” she said.

Clinton was joined by Zianna Oliphant, a young girl who made headlines after her tearful appeal before the Charlotte City Council last week.

“We are black people and we shouldn’t have to feel like this,” Oliphant had said.

After church Clinton was expected to meet with a group of young African-American men “to discuss the urgency of addressing racial, economic and social justice issues.”